Do We Need to “Professionalise to Survive”?

Anyone involved in any aspect of LEV, be it design, installation, testing etc needs to be able to demonstrate evidence of their professional abilities; their ‘competency’.

The CoSHH Regulations provide a starting point in they demand anyone involved in LEV activities should be “competent” (without actually defining the word “Competent”).

The onus of course is on the professional to prove his or her “competence” rather than any accuser (eg HSE) proving that they are not Competent (reversal of the “burden of proof” in law).  Recent HSE activities and declarations have shown that they are going to tackle the level of competence in our industry.

Let there be no doubt – there is change afoot!

How do we compare in the LEV Sector?

Well the gas industry has GasSafe (formerly CORGI) and no client would permit a gas system to be designed/installed by anyone who was not GasSafe registered.  But LEV?  Yes there is the range of BOHS approved “Proficiency Certificates” – P601, P602, P603 and P604 however it is our belief that future standards will move towards more robust registration/qualifications.

The BOHS “Certificate of Operational Competence (Control)” or CoC(Control) is one development which we believe will take hold and indeed is beginning to be recognised as a possible ‘de-facto’ equivalent (almost) of GasSafe.  It is likely that there will be more developments from the professional bodies in this subject of professional ‘registration’ – so do keep checking back here for latest developments.

For the moment it appears that HSE accepts the P601/P602 Proficiency Certificate qualification (as appropriate) as a step in the right direction towards “competency” but our view is that CoC(Control) – or an equivalent will be the progression which will develop on from those “PCerts”.

So!  Now is the time to keep abreast of the Professional Development options and opportunities.

Please do provide feedback on your experiences with Professional Development and of other options which you might recommend.